| |
 |
 |
NO. 88 AMP ENERGY / NATIONAL GUARD CHEVROLET
DALE EARNHARDT JR. - POST RACE RECAP
|
 |
POST-RACE RECAP / CHICAGOLAND SPEEDWAY
DATE: July 12, 2008
RACE: LifeLock 400
START: 2nd
FINISH: 16th
POINTS POSITION: 2nd
|
|
RECAPPING THE RACE:
Dale Earnhardt Jr. and the No. 88 AMP Energy/National Guard team endured one of their toughest races to date Saturday night under the lights at Chicagoland Speedway. The field was set according to points because of the inclimate weather in the Midwest, and the team started the 400-mile event in second place.
It only took three laps before Earnhardt radioed crew chief Tony Eury Jr. to report that the No. 88 Chevy was really tight. The team, running fifth at the time, pitted for the first time on Lap 36 under a competition caution, which NASCAR called based on the track conditions and the lack of practice throughout the weekend. The team made an air and track bar adjustment, sending Earnhardt back out onto the track in third place. Earnhardt dropped 10 positions by the next pit stop, when he told Eury that the car lacked grip. Earnhardt also reported that the left front end of the car seemed to be way up in the air, causing problems for the right side and his handling ability. On Lap 50 the team took the time to make major adjustments by adding a spring rubber and making more air and track bar adjustments. Earnhardt was running 29th.
During the next fuel run, the car was tight in the center and loose off the corners, making it challenging for Earnhardt to negotiate traffic. He held on and the team made adjustments during the next few rounds and soon was back in the top 20. Although the team never got the car perfect, Earnhardt was proud of the strides the team made, and the pit crew continued to work hard. Earnhardt finished the event 16th and remains second in the driver standings.
NEXT UP: The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will take its final break in the schedule next weekend and resume racing action on July 27 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
QUOTING DALE EARNHARDT JR.:
"It was a long night. We started off not handling good. We worked really hard and really didn't make much out of the day. We will look pretty bad on paper; we ran about 28th all day so I was pretty happy to get top-16. We just missed the setup pretty bad. I give a lot of credit to the team -- they didn't give up and no one got frustrated. It could have been a lot worse."
Free DHTML scripts provided by
Dynamic Drive
Thanks to Amy Walsh for the race recap.
Courtesy of Hendrick Motorsports.
Media Relations | No. 88 AMP Energy / National Guard Racing
|
| |
|
|